We review the Alfa Giulietta from price to economy and all its features

Road Test

by The Sun

1st October 2010, 9:57 am

Updated: 9th February 2017, 10:37 pm

THE Alfa Giulietta is the Lady Gaga of hatchbacks.

The Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and VW Golf churn out the hits in dependable fashion like Lily Allen, Pixie Lott and Co.

But you can’t take your eyes off the Giulietta, it stands out from the crowd with striking looks and alluring curves.

And there’s no hint of a Poker Face on this car. Its design is of a beauty not matched in the hatchback market.

Alfa have always produced wheels for the connoisseur and seduced them with beautiful cars. The new Giulietta is very much the same — it is beauty but with soul and pedigree. You can almost smell the history from the jaw-achingly stunning Giulietta of the 50s.

The Giulietta class of 2010 is an eye-catching combination of muscular desire and oozes character.

The classic Alfa shield grille is like a huge medallion on the chest of a bodybuilder and the headlights, with LED daytime lights, add even more jewellery sparkle.

The sides are sculpted with creases like a perfectly pressed Italian suit and sweeping roof arrives at a well rounded, but perfectly proportioned rear – with more than a hint of its cousin Maserati.

Just for good measure the back lights also are glitzed up with red LED lights for even more class.

When it comes to affordable exotica, nobody does it better than Alfa.

But what is so important about the Giulietta is that it offers substance as well as style. Beauty is suddenly more than skin deep in Alfas.

The name Giulietta, which replaces the old 147 model, is from their famous past. And, on their 100th anniversary, they need it to deliver a reliability and quality which has so often undermined its predecessors.

It certainly produces the latter. The Giulietta feels solid and well built.

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Inside, you are greeted by a shiny satin silver fascia while the controls are toggle-like switches, another reminder of the past.

The only downside is that some of the plastics don’t match the Golf, but it certainly has a bit more dazzle than the Germans.

Both are behind the Focus and Astra for interior class though.

My only other gripe is the incredibly annoying and piercing beeping when your seat belt is not on — it sounds like a lorry reversing noise. I guess it does make you affix your belt double quick though.

However the Giulietta does match the Golf for practicality with good leg and headroom for both front and rear seat passengers, and a 350-litre boot with the option of more space with 60:40 split folding rear seats.

We’ve just had a first drive in Scotland of the 2-litre JTDM Lusso — and this delivers almost everything you could want from a hatch.

Importantly, thanks to its start/stop system that automatically cuts the engine in traffic, it records fuel economy of a very impressive 60mpg yet doesn’t impact on performance with 0-60mph in 8.4secs and a top speed of 135mp.

The CO2 emissions are just 124g/km, which keeps the VED car tax band at just £30 and is showroom tax exempt.

The Giulietta handles like a classic Alfa — it’s agile and delivers power instantly.

But the fun really begins when you switch the Dynamic Control System into Dynamic setting. In this mode, the engine is made even more responsive and the steering gets a sportier feel — there’s almost too much torque from the diesel engine that the steering can cope with.

If you want even more power, you need the 1,750CC turbo fitted to the flagship Cloverleaf version that pushes power up to an exciting 235bhp and the performance to 0-62mph in a rapid 6.8 seconds.

But if economy is a priority the 1.6-litre diesel returns 64mpg.

Thankfully when it comes to forking out cash it’s also well priced. The entry level 120bhp 1.4-litre Turismo model starts at £16,995, the 1.6-litre diesel starts at £17,895 and the Cloverleaf at £24,495. The 2-litre diesel we drove is £21,195.

In the final analysis, how does it rate against the big sellers in motoring’s toughest top of the pops?

It doesn’t drive quite as well as the Golf, Focus or Astra but it is undoubtedly the best-looking car in the sector and with excellent economy.